Finally Quinn asked, “Did you ever love him?”
“That’s a stupid question,” she said. “You’re a professional, or at least you pretend to be. What do you think?”
“I think you used him right from the beginning. I think you talked him into helping you get a job with the congressman. I think it was all part of the plan your friends at LP came up with.”
She smiled, but didn’t answer.
Behind him, he could hear footsteps on the wet sand, but kept looking at Jenny.
“So are you just a role player? Or are you on the permanent roster?”
“We don’t use role players like you.” There was a hint of superiority in her tone. “But if you’re interested in joining, I can put in a good word for you.”
“I think I have enough work for the moment.”
The steps behind Quinn suddenly stopped a few feet away.
“Who’s your contact?” It was Tasha.
Quinn sensed her stop next to him, but there was no way he was going to take his eyes off of Jenny.
“Sorry. I don’t know who you’re talking about,” Jenny said.
“At LP, who do you report to?” Tasha asked.
That only garnered a laugh.
“Are there others like you planted out there?” Tasha said.
Still no response.
Tasha took a step forward. From the corner of Quinn’s eye, he could see blood on her face. “The only thing that’s going to help you now is if you talk to us.”
“Hmm, really? I guess I’m not going to get any help, then, am I?”
“Don’t think any of your
But the smile on Jenny’s face led Quinn to believe Tasha was mistaken.
He asked, “If you wanted to kill Guerrero, why did you leave D.C. early instead of traveling with him to Singapore?”
She took a step toward him.
“No,” he said, taking a step back. “You’re fine where you are.”
She laughed to herself, then looked at Tasha. “Ask her.”
“We were getting too close,” Tasha said. “You knew we’d get you before you had a chance. So running was your best option.”
“Something like that,” Jenny said.
“And Markoff?” Quinn asked.
“My wonderful boyfriend was beginning to suspect me. Not at first. At first he believed my story. The same one I told you, remember? You believed it, too.” She smiled. “He never said anything to me. Tried to act all calm and cool. But I knew. I always know. That’s why I’m good at what I do. No one ever deceives me. My only mistake was waiting too long before I disposed of him. I should have taken care of him before I left Washington.”
“You think that’s the only mistake you’ve made?” Quinn said. He could feel every micrometer of the trigger’s surface. A simple twitch would move it. Just a twitch.
Jenny didn’t answer.
“Who is your contact?” Tasha asked for the third time. “Give us names and we can work a deal.”
“You mean because you think you’ve caught me?” she asked. “So I do a little jail time, that was always a risk. But I bet you’ll be surprised how little time I actually end up spending there.”
“Not really. I know exactly how much time you’ll spend in jail,” Quinn said. There was only one way this could play out, but he had to wait until Tasha realized it, too.
“What? You’re going to kill me, Quinn? I don’t believe that.”
Tasha took a step forward. “Who. Is. Your. Contact?”
For over a minute, no one spoke, then Quinn slowly shook his head. “Whatever information she has, you will never get it.”
Tasha’s shoulders rose and then fell again as she took a deep breath.
“You already must realize it,” he went on. “The minute it gets reported that you have her in custody, her friends in the LP will know.”
She hesitated a moment, then nodded.
“And I’m guessing they’ll have the power to get her out.”
No nod this time, but she didn’t argue the point.
“She killed Markoff,” he said. “He was one of yours once.”
